Method and equipment for controlling operating temperature of air compressor

ABSTRACT

Method and equipment to control operating temperature of an air compressor. A compressor element compresses air and oil and supplies it to an oil separator. In the separator, the air and oil are separated. Oil is led to a circulating pipe and returned to the compressor element. When necessary, at least some of the oil flowing in the oil circulating pipe is supplied to cooling, which is used for controlling operating temperature of the compressor such that it is as low as possible, but nevertheless so high that no condensation point is reached. The amount of oil to be supplied to cooling is controlled by a thermostatic valve based on a change in dimension of a controlling element such that dimensions of the controlling element are changed by an external command.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority based on Finnish Application No.20115120, filed Feb. 8, 2011, which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a method of controlling an operatingtemperature of an air compressor, the method comprising compressing by acompressor element a mixture of air and oil and supplying it to an oilseparator, separating in the oil separator the air and the oil from oneanother, supplying oil to an oil circulating pipe for the purpose ofreturning it to the compressor element and supplying at least some ofthe oil flowing in the oil circulating pipe to cooling when necessary,and controlling the operating temperature of the compressor by theamount of oil to be supplied to cooling such that the operatingtemperature is as low as possible but nevertheless so high that nocondensation point is reached.

The invention further relates to equipment for controlling an operatingtemperature of an air compressor, the equipment comprising a compressorelement for compressing a mixture of air and oil, an oil separator forseparating the air and the oil from one another, an oil cooler forcooling the separated oil when necessary and a thermostatic valve which,on the basis of the temperature of the separated oil, is configured todirect a necessary amount of the oil to flow to the oil cooler and to abypass pipe so as to bypass the oil cooler as necessary.

In an air compressor, air and oil are fed to a compressor element. Amixture of air and oil compressed by the compressor element is suppliedto an oil reservoir. In the oil reservoir, the air and the oil areseparated from one another. Compressed air separated from the oil isforwarded via an aftercooler and a water separator for utilization. Theoil is supplied via an oil circulating pipe to be returned to thecompressor element. When necessary, at least some of the oil flowing inthe oil circulating pipe is supplied to an oil cooler for cooling. Theoil cooler may be bypassed by a bypass pipe. Typically, an aircompressor is provided with a thermostatic valve which monitors thetemperature of oil in the oil circulating pipe. When the temperature ofthe oil is lower than an operating value of the thermostatic valve, thethermostatic valve directs the oil to the bypass pipe so as to bypassthe oil cooler. When, again, the temperature of the oil is sufficientlyhigh, the thermostatic valve directs all oil via the oil cooler. A setvalue of the thermostatic valve has to be sufficiently high so that inall operating conditions the air contained in the oil reservoir does notreach the condensation point, since otherwise moisture condenses fromthe air in to the oil, which would impair the properties of the oilconsiderably and thus cause damage to the entire compressor system.This, in turn, means that the operating temperature has to be kept quitehigh, which again stresses the mechanical strength of the air compressoras well as also contributes to impairing the properties of the oil.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,390 discloses a solution wherein in addition to athermostatic valve, a bypass valve is also provided for the purpose ofbypassing the oil cooler. According to the publication, valuesinfluencing the condensation of water are measured and, on the basisthereof, the pneumatically operated bypass valve is controlled to openand close the bypass pipe. With such a solution, it is in practiceimpossible to continuously control the operating temperature of the oilcompressor since the solution only comprises switching the cooler on andoff. Further, it is impossible with this solution to react to rapidvariations in the load of the compressor element, which may lead togreat variations in the operating temperature and air pressure such thatin connection with rapid variations temperature and condensation pointpeaks may occur.

EP 1 937 977 discloses a solution wherein the amount of oil beingsupplied to cooling and the bypass pipe is controlled by a mixing valvecontrolled by a control device. The control device is provided with acontrol algorithm having the outside temperature, air pressure andenvironmental relative humidity inputted thereto. The purpose of thecontrol algorithm is to calculate the lowest possible operatingtemperature at which no water is condensed in to the oil, and the mixingvalve is controlled in an attempt to restrain impairment of the oil andto avoid condensation of water in to the oil. However, such equipmenthas a complex, expensive and high-maintenance structure. The controllingelement is quite large. The power demand of the controlling element isalso relatively high. Furthermore, it is quite challenging to make thecompressor unit operate in a reliable manner in connection with afailure of the control system.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel method andequipment for controlling the operating temperature of an aircompressor.

The method according to the invention is characterized by controllingthe amount of oil to be supplied to cooling by a thermostatic valvebased on a change in dimension of a controlling member such that thedimension of the controlling member is changed by an external command asnecessary.

Further, the equipment according to the invention is characterized inthat the thermostatic valve is provided with a controlling member basedon a change in dimension and the equipment includes a control unitwhereto at least one piece of input data influencing determination ofthe magnitude of the condensation point of the air contained in the oilreservoir and the operating temperature of the oil reservoir areinputted as input data, whereby the control unit is configured to send acontrol command to the thermostatic valve to change the dimension of thecontrolling member as necessary.

In the disclosed solution, the mixture of air and oil is compressed bythe compressor element and supplied to the oil separator. In the oilseparator, the air and the oil are separated from one another. The oilis led to the oil circulating pipe so as to be returned to thecompressor element. When necessary, at least some of the oil flowing inthe oil circulating pipe is supplied to cooling. The amount of oil to besupplied to cooling is used for controlling the operating temperature ofthe compressor such that it is as low as possible, but nevertheless sohigh that no condensation point is reached. The amount of the oil to besupplied to cooling is controlled by a thermostatic valve based on achange in dimension of the controlling element such that the dimensionof the controlling element is changed by an external command asnecessary. Such a solution is simple and small and thus reliable andcost-wise inexpensive. The power demand of the controlling element isquite small and the element is very simple and easy to seal inconnection with the system.

According to an embodiment, the thermostatic valve based on a change indimension of the controlling member is a three-way valve which separatesa necessary amount of the oil to flow to cooling and past it. Anordinary thermostatic valve is easily replaceable by such a thermostaticvalve wherein the dimension of the controlling member is changed by anexternal command as necessary. Consequently, the ordinary thermostaticvalves in existing compressors may easily be replaced by thermostaticvalves controlled by external control, or new compressors to bemanufactured may be made otherwise identical except for the thermostaticvalve. An external command may be used for controlling the controllingmember to change its dimension. In such a case, in the absence of anexternal command, the thermostatic valve operates as a conventionalthermostatic valve, i.e. reacts only to the temperature of the oilflowing in the oil circulating pipe, operating, however, at a certainbasic level, whereby the operation of the compressor unit is notdisturbed but it temporarily operates only according to the operatingtemperature of the controlling member.

According to yet another embodiment, the change in dimension of thecontrolling member is based on the controlling member containing anexpansion material which, as a consequence of thermal expansion, changesits dimension. In such a case, the dimension of the controlling memberis changed by changing the temperature of the expansion material on thebasis of an external command.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in closer detail in the accompanyingdrawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an air compressor, and

FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c schematically show a thermostatic valve indifferent operating situations.

For the sake of clarity, the figures show some embodiments of theinvention in a simplified manner. The figures show exemplary diagrams ofmanners of implementation for a compressor and a valve. Naturally, thecompressor and the valve may also be implemented otherwise. In thefigures, like reference numerals identify like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an air compressor provided with a compressor element 1. Thecompressor element 1 may be a screw compressor or a piston compressor,for instance. Rotors of a screw compressor, for instance, are typicallyrotated by an electric motor. Typically, the electric motor is a shortcircuit motor which may be controlled e.g. by a frequency converter. Forthe sake of clarity, the figure shows no motor nor frequency converter,for instance. Instead of an electric motor, another motor drive, such asa combustion engine, may also be used.

The compression element 1 is supplied with air from an air inlet and oilfrom an oil inlet. A mixture of air and oil compressed by the compressorelement 1 is supplied along a delivery pipe 2 to an oil reservoir 3.

In the oil reservoir 3, the oil and the air are separated from oneanother by an oil separator. The oil separator may be a cycloneseparator provided in a lower part of the oil reservoir 3, for instance.Further, the oil reservoir 3 may also be provided with other oilseparators wherefrom oil is returned e.g. directly to the compressorelement 1. However, for the sake of clarity, the figure shows no oilseparators or such direct return to the compressor element 1.

From the oil reservoir 3, compressed air cleaned of oil is suppliedalong an air pipe 4 to an air aftercooler 5. From the air aftercooler 5,the air is led via a water separator 6. In the water separator 6moisture is removed, resulting in sufficiently dry compressed air.

A vast majority of the oil separated from the oil reservoir 3 issupplied along an oil circulating pipe 7 to an oil cooler 8. From theoil cooler 8 the oil returns to circulation to the compression element 1along a return pipe 9.

In the circulation, the oil cooler 8 may be bypassed along a bypass pipe10. In other words, if the oil is not to be cooled, it is by thethermostatic valve 11 directed from the oil circulating pipe 7 along thebypass pipe 10 to the return pipe 9.

The thermostatic valve 11 is a valve based on thermal expansion, i.e. itcontains an expansion material which has a high thermal expansion factorwithin a certain temperature range. The expansion material may be e.g.wax. The thermal expansion of the expansion material is influenced bythe temperature of the oil flowing in the oil circulating pipe 7. Whenthe temperature of the oil is low, the thermostatic valve 11 directs atleast most of the oil along the bypass pipe 10 to the return pipe 9.When, again, the temperature of the oil rises, the thermostatic valve 11directs more and more oil via the oil cooler 8.

A basic set value of the thermostatic valve 11 has to be sufficientlyhigh so that in all operating conditions the air contained in the oilreservoir 3 does not reach the condensation point, since otherwisemoisture condenses from the air in to the oil, which would impair theproperties of the oil considerably and thus cause damage to the entirecompressor system.

The compressor system further includes a control unit 12. Data aboutenvironmental temperature 13, environmental moisture 14, andenvironmental air pressure 15 may be inputted as input data to thecontrol unit. In addition, data about a delivery pressure 16 may beinputted to the control unit 12. On the basis of these data, the controlunit 12 is able to determine the appropriate operating temperature 17,i.e. the temperature in the oil reservoir 3, in order for the aircontained in the oil reservoir 3 not to reach the condensation point.

In principle, data e.g. about the environmental temperature 13 alonewill suffice to calculate a target value for the operating temperature17. By using several input data the control becomes more versatile andmore accurate.

On the basis of the calculated target value of the operating temperatureand the operating temperature 17 obtained as feedback, the control unitsends a control command 18 to the thermostatic valve 11. Thethermostatic valve 11 is used for controlling the amount of oil to becirculated via the oil cooler 8, thus controlling the operatingtemperature 17.

The thermostatic valve 11 is provided with means for manipulating thetemperature of the expansion material of the thermostatic valve 11. Thethermostatic valve 11 may be provided e.g. with an electric resistorenabling the expansion material to be heated. In such a case, a controlcommand 18 means that said electric resistor heats the expansionmaterial. The thermostatic valve 11 then interprets that the temperatureof the oil flowing in the oil circulating pipe 7 is higher than it is inreality, in which case the thermostatic valve 11 supplies more oil tothe oil cooler 8 than without such a control command. Such a controlcommand 18 may be given e.g. in a situation wherein measurement resultsshow that outdoor air is very dry, in which case the operatingtemperature 17 may be quite low and yet no condensation point isreached. Thus, in a way, the thermostatic valve 11 is manipulated tooperate in a desired manner.

FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c show a thermostatic valve 11 in a very simplifiedand schematic manner. The thermostatic valve 11 is provided with a slide19 whose position is determined by an expansion element 20. Thethermostatic valve 11 is further provided with a spring 21 to ensurethat the slide 19 returns to its other control position. The spring 21is not necessary if the expansion element 20 and the slide 19 arereliably attached to one another and if the structure does not itotherwise require.

The slide 19 is provided with apertures 22 a and 22 b such that theposition of the slide 19 determines how much of the oil coming from theoil reservoir 3 along the oil circulating pipe 7 further flows along theoil circulating pipe 7 to the oil cooler 8 and how much of the oil flowsto the bypass pipe 10, thus bypassing the oil cooler 8.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2a , the oil coming from the oil reservoir 3along the oil circulating pipe 7 as illustrated by arrow A is quitecold. In such a case, the expansion element 20 is in its shortestdimension and the aperture 22 b resides at the bypass pipe 10 and,correspondingly, the aperture 22 a resides at such a point that no oilis allowed to flow therethrough further to the oil circulating pipe 7 tothe oil cooler 8. Thus, the thermostatic valve 11 directs the oil toflow in its entirety to the bypass pipe 10 as illustrated by arrow B.

FIG. 2b illustrates e.g. a situation wherein the oil flowing from theoil reservoir 3 along the oil circulating pipe 7 as illustrated by arrowA is slightly warmer than in the case illustrated in FIG. 2a . In such acase, this oil heats the expansion element 20 which, as a consequence ofthermal expansion, changes its dimension, i.e. in the example of FIG. 2bbecomes longer. The lengthening of the expansion element 20 moves theslide 19 such that the aperture 22 b moves slightly in a sidewaysdirection from the bypass pipe 10, in which case when compared with FIG.2a , a smaller amount of oil flows to the bypass pipe 10 as illustratedby arrow B. Further, the movement of the slide 19 moves the aperture 22a such that it resides partly at the oil circulating pipe 7 leading tothe oil cooler 8, in which case some of the oil flows as illustrated byarrow C to the oil cooler 8 for cooling.

FIG. 2b also illustrates a situation wherein the oil flowing along theoil circulating pipe 7 as illustrated by arrow A is as cold as in thecase of FIG. 2a but the control unit 12 has, on the basis of input data,determined that the operating temperature may be reasonably low withoutthe condensation point being reached. Thus, the control unit 12 has sentthe thermostatic valve 11 a control command 18 that the expansionelement 20 be heated by an electric resistor 23. Consequently, heated bythe electric resistor 23, the expansion element 20 changes itsdimension, i.e. extends, such that the slide 19 directs some of the oilto the oil cooler 8 and some of it to the bypass pipe 10.

FIG. 2c illustrates e.g. a situation wherein the oil flowing from theoil reservoir 3 along the oil circulating pipe 7 as illustrated by arrowA is very hot. In such a case, the oil heats the expansion element 20 somuch that, as a consequence of thermal expansion, it becomes so longthat the slide 19 moves to a position shown in FIG. 2c . The aperture 22a of the slide 19 then resides at the oil circulating pipe 7 leading tothe oil cooler 8 such that the oil flowing from the oil reservoir 3along the oil circulating pipe 7 as illustrated by arrow A proceeds inits entirety along the oil circulating pipe 7 to the oil cooler 8 asshown by arrow C. Correspondingly, the aperture 22 b resides at a sideof the bypass pipe 10 such that the slide 19 completely prevents anyflow to the bypass pipe 10.

On the other hand, FIG. 2c also illustrates e.g. an operating situationwherein the oil flowing from the oil reservoir 3 is as cold as in thecase illustrated by FIG. 2a , but measurement results show e.g. thatoutdoor air is very dry. In such a case, the control unit may controlthe operating temperature to be low, i.e. also in this case the electricresistor 23 has been sent a control command 18 to heat the expansionelement 20 by the electric resistor 23. Typically, the operatingtemperature of an air compressor lies within a range of 70 to 120° C.

The expansion material, or in other words the expansion element, maythus be heated by an electric resistor, for instance. The heating mayalso take place in some other way, such as by using an external medium,e.g. water, oil or air. Further, when desired, the expansion element mayalso be cooled by an external command. Similarly, the cooling may takeplace by using an external medium, e.g. water, oil or air. In additionto wax, the expansion material may be some other material having a highthermal expansion factor within a certain temperature range.

Instead of an expansion element containing an expansion material basedon thermal expansion, e.g. a magnetostrictive or piezoelectric membermay be used as a dimension-changing controlling member. In such a case,in order to change the dimension of the controlling member, e.g. acontrol device is used which receives measurement data about thetemperature of the oil, and this control device gives e.g. themagnetostrictive or piezoelectric member a control command to change itsdimension. The external control command 18 may then be inputted to thiscontrol device, in which case this external control command 18 is thusused for changing the dimension of the controlling member as necessary.

Further, the controlling member changing its dimension may include apart which is based on thermal expansion and which thus reacts directlyto the temperature of the oil coming from the oil reservoir, and a partwhich changes its dimension by an external command and which may be e.g.a magnetostrictive part or a piezoelectric part.

When necessary, the thermostatic valve controllable by an externalcommand is thus used for constricting the amount of oil flowing to theoil cooler from the oil circulating pipe 7. Simultaneously withconstricting this flow, the flow to the bypass pipe 10 is at the sametime opened. This enables the operating temperature to be controlledreliably, quickly and safely in all different operating situations. Theoperating situations may vary owing to variations in environmentalconditions or loads, for instance. At its simplest, the control takesplace by using the three-way thermostatic valve shown in FIG. 1. Theoperating temperature may also be controlled by a solution wherein e.g.a two-way valve constricting the oil flow and controllable by anexternal command is used for constricting the amount of oil flowing tothe oil cooler 8. This means that a sufficient flow in the bypass pipe10 has to be ensured in some other way, e.g. by a conventional three-waythermostatic valve. Thus, in the simplest and most cost-efficientmanner, the control takes place by the solution according to FIG. 1wherein only one valve is used in the oil circulation arrangementarranged from the oil reservoir 3 via the oil cooler 8 to the compressorelement 1, the valve thus being said three-way thermostatic valve 11controllable by an external command.

In some cases, the features disclosed in this application may be used assuch, irrespective of other features. On the other hand, when necessary,the features disclosed in this application may be combined to providedifferent combinations.

The drawings and the related description are only intended to illustratethe idea of the invention. The details of the invention may vary withinthe scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling an operating temperatureof an air compressor, the method comprising: compressing by a compressorelement a mixture of air and oil and supplying it to an oil separator;separating in the oil separator the air and the oil from one another;supplying oil to an oil circulating pipe for the purpose of returning itto the compressor element and supplying at least some of the oil flowingin the oil circulating pipe to a cooling assembly when necessary;controlling the operating temperature of the compressor by the amount ofoil to be supplied to the cooling assembly; processing data to minimizeor eliminate condensation in a compressed air circuit of said aircompressor, said data including information about the operatingtemperature; providing an external command based, at least in part, onsaid processed data; and minimizing or eliminating condensation in thecompressed air circuit, wherein said minimizing or eliminating includeschanging a dimension of a control member to regulate the amount of oilto be supplied to the cooling assembly by a thermostatic valve with saidexternal command as necessary, wherein the changing the dimension of thecontrol member includes changing a temperature of an expansion materialusing the external command.
 2. A method as defined by claim 1, whereinchanging the dimension of the control member further includes using theexternal command to control an additional heating element to heat theexpansion material.
 3. A method as defined by claim 1, wherein thethermostatic valve is a three-way thermostatic valve.
 4. A method asdefined by claim 1 wherein said processed data further includesinformation which reads on an environmental condition.
 5. A method ofclaim 4, wherein said environmental condition is the temperature of theenvironment.
 6. A method as defined by claim 4 further comprisingsupplying oil to an oil reservoir in fluid connection with said oilseparator after oil has been separated from air in the oil separator,wherein said control member changes dimension in response to theexternal control command and changes dimension in response directly toan oil temperature in said oil reservoir.
 7. Equipment to control anoperating temperature of an air compressor, the equipment comprising: acompressor element for compressing a mixture of air and oil; an oilseparator in fluid connection with said compressor element; an oilcooler in fluid connection with said oil separator and said compressorelement; a first flow path upstream of said oil cooler and downstream ofsaid oil separator, said first flow path in fluid connection with saidoil separator and said oil cooler; a second flow path downstream of saidoil separator and upstream of said compressor element, said second flowpath in fluid connection with said oil separator and said compressorelement and bypassing said oil cooler, said first and second flow pathare fluidly connected; a thermostatic valve provided with a controlmember comprising an expansion element and changeable in dimension, saiddimension responsive to a control command, said thermostatic valve influid connection with said oil separator and said oil cooler, saidcontrol member configured such that a change in dimension of saidcontrol member results in a change in an amount of oil which will flowthrough said first flow path and said second flow path; and a controlunit containing data processed to minimize or eliminate condensation ina compressed air circuit of said compressor, said data includinginformation about said operating temperature, said control command basedat least in part on said processed data and transmitted from saidcontrol unit.
 8. Equipment defined by claim 7, wherein the equipmentcomprises means for changing a temperature of the expansion element. 9.Equipment as defined by claim 8, wherein the thermostatic valvecomprises an electric resistor for heating the expansion element. 10.Equipment as defined by claim 7, wherein the thermostatic valve is athree-way thermostatic valve.
 11. Equipment as defined by claim 7,wherein an oil reservoir is in fluid connection with said oil separator,said control command is an external control command generated by saidcontrol unit, and said control member changes dimension in response tothe external control command and changes dimension in response directlyto an oil temperature in the oil reservoir.